Assignment 1: Educational Technologies Blog

Week 8 Assignment 1: Educational Technologies Blog

This assignment was a task because I have been able to gain much insight from my colleagues each week.

Technology 1: www.ecitizenship.csla.net researched  by Janet Broadbent.

        This site offers a thorough tutorial explaining every aspect of Digital Citizenship. It provides modules that completely explain the relevance of Digital Citizenship and the way it can be designed as a major component of the instructional process.

        I selected this site because of the instructional aspect. The modules are clear and succinct, starting with the definition of Digital Citizenship, relating it to the standards of the State of California (which can be adapted to align with the State of Texas), moving  to Student Engagement, Tools, Teaching and Resources.

        I would incorporate this technology in my practice through the use of instruction beginning with concepts/Vocabulary. Once we are in the computer lab, instead of the usual self-paced tutorials, I would have them complete mock scenarios illustrating unacceptable online behaviors. Each adult learner would have a different scenario. The learners would discuss their results in class presenting their scenarios via the class computer.

Technology 2: http://www.commonsensemedi.org  researched   by Diana Cox.

        The appeal to me of this site has multiple layers. The site covers every genre which our learners are participants---movies, TV shows, music, videos, games, book, virtual environments and simulations. Also, the site has applications for children with special needs which is important.

        My rationale for the selection is that it is family oriented. There is a vast segment of my adult learners that have families. This would be of enormous benefit to them.

        There are tools and curricula to teach learners about becoming responsible digital citizens. I would incorporate this site in my content and create movie night. I would bring the popcorn and the learners would bring their favorite movie treats. The learners would select a movie, we would go through the process of reviewing the content for its appropriateness for adults and children. Next, we would view the movie and re-evaluate it.

The second way I would incorporate this site is to assign the adult learners to select two movies, videos, books or games they deem appropriate for their family/children, evaluate it after viewing it with them and share the results with the class.

Technology 3: http://digitalcitizenship.ed.com/curriculum.aspx  researched by Robert Kennedy.

        This site is truly a teaching site because it is designed to make learners fully cognizant of the rules that govern the ethical use of digital files and the importance of these rules. The goal of this site is to create an awareness of the rights connected with creative content.

        Learners must be taught the relevance of creative rights that will provide growth for them to become productive citizens in the new digital age.

        I would incorporate this technology using flash cards or mnemonic devices where the adult learners would create rhymes, rap, etc. to learn new vocabulary. Next, I would assign them to look at all forms of digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette, select one aspect and apply it to their lives and the use of their mobiles. I want them to make it meaningful to their daily lives. How are their behaviors affected by what they learn? Tamarkin and Rodrigo (2011) states: Information technology- through its speed, accuracy, scalability, traceability, comparability, measurability, connect ability, and interoperability-provides an environment that is highly conducive to the formation, sharing, and, recording of ideas. It allows us to collaborate in real time, in new ways, and in combination with resources that raise understanding to new levels”.

        The one thread all emerging technologies have in common is to increase understanding and move forward in education with technology as its foundation.

References

www.ecitizenship.csla.net

http://commonsensemedia.org.

http://digitalcitizenship.ed.com/curriculum.aspx.

Tamarkin, M., Rodrigo, S., & The 2011 Educause Evolving Technologies Committee. (2011). Evolving Technologies: A view to tomorrow. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/evolving technologies-view-tomorrow.

Assignment 1: Educational Technologies Blog

            Week 7 Assignment 1: Educational Technologies Blog

       The investigation into technologies related to digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette proved rewarding. Adult learners should be involved in learning everything there is to learn regarding digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette. Focusing on this trend of thought, I selected two sites:

www.network.etiquette.net/

This is a cyber-word synonymous with internet etiquette and digital manners made available online. The rules of netiquette are net etiquette and internet ethics for effective use of internet sites.

             I selected this site as an introduction to teach adult learners about cyber etiquette. I am assuming this position would be revealing to them and facilitate their online use.

             Two examples of how I would incorporate this technology into my professional practice would be:

·        A power point presentation introducing the concept Netiquette.

·        A Think-Pair-Share activity in which the learners would choose slide/slides and assign them to annotate the content from the slides and identify unknown vocabulary. Next, they would write a critique or reaction of what was learned and how they will apply it to their future cyber activity.

Bonk (2009) mentioned: “The field of distance learning has significantly evolved during the past two decades. It has always been concerned with learning access and providing any potential learner with some type of learning opportunity”.

www.ikeepsafe.org/educators/more/c-3/matrix/cyber-ethics/

       

       Cyber-ethics is the discipline of using appropriate and ethical behaviors and acknowledging moral duties and obligations pertaining to online environments and digital media.

        The selection of this site was to inform adult learners regarding their behavior online. This is something that is taken for granted due to the anonymity of the internet. A user can hide his/her identity and create havoc as they deem appropriate. Users of the internet must learn there are acceptable and unacceptable behaviors everyone must demonstrate while online.

Two examples of implementing this technology in my professional practice are:

·        Adult learners would create a KWL diagram. After reading data about this site, they would complete the diagram. Volunteers would share their findings on Whiteboards for a thorough class discussion.

·        The adult learners would be assigned to investigate technologies relating to the topics of netiquette, digital citizenship and ethics. They would create a forum/debate to express their findings, relate their findings to their personal lives. This forum/debate would provide insights into learning acceptable online behaviors.

“(T) here is the quest for the magic medium, the ultimate technology that will revolutionize education. But there is no magic medium and never will be. Each technology has its strengths. The task is to use them to create a world where education of quality is abundantly available:. (Sir John Daniel, October 24, 2007).

  To ensure better quality educational pursuits using technology as the foundation, there are guidelines, procedures, behaviors and principles that must be adhered to. Without these introduced and made a component of curriculum design processes, technology will not reach the maximum impact as it was designed to possess.

 References

Bonk, C. J. (2009). The world is open: How web technology                                  is revolutionizing education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sir John Daniel, “Technology and the Media Have Transformed All Aspects of Human Life-Except Education, Economist.Com. (Oct. 24, 2007), www.economist.com/debate/index.cfm?action=article & debate__ id= 1& story__ id9968827 (accessed Apr. 18, 2008).

Assignment 1: Educational Technologies Blog

             Week 6 Assignment 1: Educational Blog

Open or distance educational technologies are drastically changing l the way learners acquire knowledge. Technology is altering education from curriculum design to learner engagement ending with the way assessments are administered. Cuban (2009) notes: “the real promise of technology in education lies in its potential to facilitate fundamental, qualitative changes in the nature of teaching and learning” (p.44).                 

The first technology I chose was: http://www.cramberry.net. This site will allow learners to study with online flash cards. I selected this particular technology due to its versatility. My major groups of learners are in developmental classes. This site will flash cards. The site is user friendly in that the adult learners have the option of creating their own flash cards (which I pray they decide) or they have the option to choose from the catalog of free public flash cards from the site.  As they study, Cramberry will analyze their individual progress and shows them cards they need to study. This adds greater depth to their study and generates a stronger appreciation and motivation to studying.

I would incorporate this technology with teaching vocabulary having them create flash/concept cards and use the cards in their writing to note cards after reading various printed materials. These note cards will provide structure in writing clear, cohesive paragraphs. These note cards will also provide cues for timely discussions.

The second open or distance education technology I selected was: http://www.creating.com. This site is an online diagramming application that allows learners to create flow charts, diagrams, and concept maps. I especially look forward to incorporating this site in my curriculum due to its easy adaptation in the writing process. Portions of effective paragraph writing are inclusive of flow charts, diagrams and concept maps. “For decades, schools and researchers in the field of educational technology have argued vehemently that it is not the media or technology that impacts teaching and learning-it is the inherent design of the technologies, their affordances, and how they are used pedagogically that facilitates successful, effective, and “good” teaching and learning (Chapters 1, 2, 6 and 7; Clark, 1983; Cuban, 2009; Doering, Miller, & Veletsianos, 2008). I will incorporate this technology on various projects. This site is a valuable tool for writers at any stage of their developing writing skills.

As an educator of adult learners I need to be able to develop, implement, and evaluate new and creative teaching technologies to maximize interaction, social presence and provide a sense of community in the virtual world of education.

References

Clark, R. E. (1983). Reconsidering research on learning from media. Review of Educational Research, 53, 445-459.

Cuban, L.(2009).  Hugging the Middle: How Teachers Teach in the Era of Testing and Accountability.  New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Doering, A., Miller, C., & Veletsianos, G. (2008). Adventure learning: Educational, Social, and technological affordances for collaborative hybrid distance education. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 9(1).

Educational Technologies Blog Games, Simulations and Virtual Environments

   Educational Technologies Blog         Adult Education Learners

           Vocabulary is the basis of reading, writing and education as a whole. A solid, firm foundation of any educational pursuit is built on a rich vocabulary. A well-developed vocabulary opens the door to numerous opportunities for any individual.

           I selected Brain Age http://www.brainage.com as the first choice because it is useful for enhancing your thinking and problem-solving skills through puzzles and quizzes. This game emphasis: attention, speed, language and sharpens the memory while strengthen the intelligence. There are apps for Androids, Ipad, and Wii users. Users will find   a variety of puzzles all designed to help keep the brain mentally alert.

Also, this game is useful to solve math problems, improves learning and increases vocabulary. Players are able to compete in a learning environment and enjoy themselves simultaneously and learn in the process.  Squire (2011) emphasizes: “multiplayer games enable people to play together and collaborate in activities to achieve mutually desirable goals, and this intensifies learning”.

            

            I would incorporate Brain Age games in my professional practice in allowing the adult learners to create their personalized puzzles to share with the class and as a tool for test purposes. They would create test banks from the concepts and other content they learned to prepare for mid-terms, finals and other forms of evaluation. The adult learners would have complete autonomy with the selection of the design and selection of content.

           Education and learning have evolved into a more creative posture. This leads educators toward incorporating games, simulations, and virtual environments as needed tools to assist in creating richer, more meaningful learning experiences. According to Squire (2011): The school based culture of passive knowledge reception (as opposed to production) needs to change. Such a change would require revolutionizing across the entire education system- from the professional development of teachers (who themselves are treated as recipients, not producers, of knowledge) to the assessment system”.

              The second technology of choice was an Avatar simulation produced content or MUD which is a text-based online cooperative game. This type game using Avatars which represents the players illustrates transformed social interaction occurs when people interact using Avatars. When learners are passionate about in what they are involved,

They will exhibit extreme measures to achieve. Avatars are useful in video games, with Xb360 Dashboard and the New Xbox Experience. Avatars can be utilized to create blogs, and stories. It affords learners to think “outside the box” and cope with different real life situations. It allows them to be whatever they dream they could become. Games can teach learners more than using paper, pencil and tests. Games allow learners to participate in their education. Participation breeds motivation and motivation breeds success. “While virtual worlds may seem “torpid’ (Solomon 2004) to a non-gaming older generation, empirical analysis of what game communities do and value intellectual and academic play. In a school system sometimes side- tracked by testing regimes that pressure teachers and students on only a narrow range of topics, popular culture contexts might be a nice compliment to classrooms”. (Steinkuehler, C. & Duncan, S., 2008).

               I would create this technology in my professional practice in two ways. First, the learners would design a blog and the topics would   evolve from a real life issue, an issue at school or create an issue. They would design their individual Avatars to represent their personalities or positions regards the issue and discuss and work through avenues to resolve the issue. This would provide social interaction, social inquiry skills and problem solving skills. If the issue is one of fantasy, it would allow the learner to step into roles they may aspire to fill.  The second opportunity would be to create a community, assign roles and learn to interact with each other. They would research the role and responsibilities they would portray and experience the life of the character they have assumed. “Learners should have clearly visible opportunities to become leaders, teachers, or authors in the domains they are studying. It should be clearly communicated what players must do to become experts, and they should have opportunities to interact with such experts” (Squire, et.al.).

             As an educator my purpose is to teach and yet make it an enjoyable, rewarding, and successful experience. Games, simulations, and virtual environments are the vehicles in society to achieve success in education. Dewey (1897) states it as: Good education, effective and life-enhancing education, represents life “as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighborhood, or on the playground”. This is applicable of learners of any age.

References

Dewey, J. (1897). My pedagogic creed. Sch J I4 (3). 77-80

Solomon, A. (2004, July 10). The closing of the American book. The closing of the American book. The New York Times p. A17.

Steinkuehler, C., & Duncan, S. (2008). Scientific habits of mind in virtual worlds. Journal of Science Education & Technology, 17(6), 530-543.

Scientific Habits of Mind in Virtual Worlds by Steinkuehler, C. & Duncan, S. in Journal of Science Education & Technology, Issue 17. Copyright 2008 by KLUMER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS-DORDECHT.  Reprinted by permission of KLUMER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS-DORDECHT                                                      VIA THE Copyright Clearance Center.

Squire, K. (2011).  Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital age. New York, N.Y: Teachers College Press.